Pleasure

Pleasure. Everybody likes it, right? Even this giraffe, who looks contented enough in New Jersey. (What does a giraffe enjoy? Juicy grass, familiar surroundings, other giraffes to wander around with – I suppose that pretty much sums it up.)

Well, we humans are harder to please; then again, we can think up a lot of pleasurable things to do that would never occur to a giraffe. We can also, alas, get ourselves into situations that don’t leave much time for our favorite pleasures. That’s been the story of my life for the past few years.

I’m not sure whether things are easing up at last, or whether I’m just adjusting to being overloaded. Anyway, I get a lot of pleasure out of making things that weren’t there before, and I’ve missed writing. Including writing blog posts.

It’s a pleasure to be back.

 

Daily Prompt: Say Your Name – or something that vaguely resembles it

Is this the face of a Karen Cheryl? Apparently it is.

Today, WordPress wants to know what we think of our first names – “Are you named after someone or something? Are there any stories or associations attached to it? If you had the choice, would you rename yourself?”

My first name. Sharon. It’s been a nuisance since I was seven years old. I have no idea how my parents chose it – I was all grown up before I met anyone with the same name, which may have something to do with the ways in which it’s been a problem.

You see, a lot of the people I meet just can’t seem to remember what my name is. I suppose the variations could tell me something about the other person – maybe the ones who insist on calling me “Cheryl” lose interest fast, before the second syllable. And the ones who think I’m really “Karen”? It must take a while for them to grasp what you’re telling them.

Or, of course, they might just never have met a Sharon before, and plug in a name they are familiar with. At least nobody has ever managed to jumble Cheryl and Karen and started calling me Karyl (pronounced Carol). Then again, maybe they do and I’m the one who fails to realize they’re talking to me.

Mamas, don’t let your babies grow up to be Sharons. 😉

(Of course, being a Sharon has some good points – mostly because you can’t make it into a nickname. I’ve known girls who were really officially named “Sally” and “Toni” – but some teachers explained patiently to them that they were really truly actually “Sarah” and “Antoinette”, which was news to each of them.)

All the leaves are brown…

…just like these…

…and the sky is gray.

Actually, some of the leaves aren’t all that brown

I’m not sure what these little blue berries (not blueberries) might be, but I hope something or other finds them tasty this winter

Before it was cut down, this tree was leaning dangerously
– looking at the stump, you can see why

The hemerocallis (daylilies) have had enough for this year

Even after a visit from a hurricane
there are still a surprising number of leaves on the trees

But there’s no way around it: Winter is coming

This is both a response to the current WordPress daily prompt, which asks us to use a song as the title / inspiration for today’s post, and my first try at Myfanwy Hart’s new “Today’s 100” theme: in the course of a walk, take photos of what you see in 100 steps.

My photos today are heavy on plants and weather – most animals seemed to have the sense to stay under cover, unlike me. There was a pair of blue jays quarreling with each other, but they wouldn’t stay in one place long enough to photograph. By the time I pointed the camera at one of them, it was flying away.